How Do I Take My Website To The Next Level?

The battle to reach Google’s first page is more intense than ever, but experts argue that isn’t always the key goal. Nik Rawlinson reveals all

- Nik Rawlinson

However well your website’s performing, it could do a bit better. Attract more clicks, generate fresh leads, convert new customers or climb the search rankings: whatever your measure of success, a tweak here and there can help you move towards your goal.

Is it time to give your homepage the heave-ho?

There’s been a lot of talk about the death of the homepage – and the importance of multiple entry points. Not only do these increase your chances of ranking for specific content; they also mean there’s a greater chance of visitors landing on just the information they need.

To JM Littman, this is nothing new. “Every page on a website has always been important,” said the new media director of web design agency Webheads. “You never know who is going to land on that page.”

David Gelb, managing director of web development agency JBi Digital, agrees. “The concept of multiple entry points is nothing new,” he told PC Pro. “We talk about multiple mini homepages. People coming in through their mobile generally won’t go to the homepage as much as before – and if they’re arriving on the back of a push action they definitely won’t. Mini websites [make for good] information architecture [suited to] targeted audiences.”

But where should you put them? Is a mini homepage just a folder within the same domain, as the BBC’s news pages are now, or is it better set up as a subdomain, as news.bbc.co.uk once was? In Gelb’s view, the answer depends on your goal – as well as your resources. “If you start having extra domains, you need to manage them,” he said, pointing to the increased cost and administrative burden. “But SEO is also a consideration. If you have extra domains, are you taking [the focus] away from your core domain?”